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WHAT’S HAPPENING TODAY: Good afternoon and happy Monday, readers! If you’re in Washington D.C. this week, we hope you’re ready for the first big heatwave of the year. Temperatures could hit as high as 97°F tomorrow. 🥵☀️🌡️ Be sure to drink plenty of water, stick in the shade and cool off where you can!
We have a jam-packed newsletter for you today, starting with an announcement from the Environmental Protection Agency made just minutes ago on the agency’s plans to weaken Biden-era rules on PFAS in drinking water. 🥤
We have everything you need to know on the electric vehicle fee proposed in the House’s transportation and highway bill introduced yesterday. ⚡🚘 Plus, keep reading for the latest on the Treasury’s decision to once again extend a waiver for some nations to buy sanctioned Russian oil. 🇷🇺🛢️
Welcome to Daily on Energy, written by Washington Examiner energy and environment writers Callie Patteson (@CalliePatteson) and Maydeen Merino (@MaydeenMerino). Email cpatteson@washingtonexaminer dot com or mmerino@washingtonexaminer dot com for tips, suggestions, calendar items, and anything else. If a friend sent this to you and you’d like to sign up, click here. If signing up doesn’t work, shoot us an email, and we’ll add you to our list.
EPA AND HHS NEW RULES ON PFAS IN DRINKING WATER: The Environmental Protection Agency alongside the Department of Health and Human Services announced two new rules to address “forever chemicals” in drinking water.
The EPA has proposed revisiting and rescinding some of the Biden administration limits for several PFAS, commonly known as “forever chemicals.” The agency argued that the Biden administration failed to follow statutory requirements when setting limits on four PFAS chemicals such as: PFHxS, PFNA, HFPO-DA and PFBS.
The agency said if the proposal is finalized it would rescind the limit on these four components and re-evalutate the chemicals for regulation.
The EPA also plans to maintain the Biden administration’s limits on two common types of PFAS, known as perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) and perfluorooctane sulfonic acid (PFOS). However, the agency will provide water systems an additional two years to comply with the standards.
Some background: The Biden administration in April 2024 established the first-ever limits on PFAS in drinking water, arguing that exposure to these chemicals could raise risk of certain cancers, liver and heart impacts, and damage to children's development.
Read more by Maydeen here.
HOUSE RELEASES TRANSPORTATION BILL TEXT: The House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee over the weekend unveiled its $580 billion surface transportation reauthorization bill.
Electric vehicle fee: As part of the bill, lawmakers proposed requiring an $130 annual "registration fee” on electric vehicles and $35 fee for plug-in hybrid vehicles collected by each state.
Lawmakers would require the fee to begin in 2029 with the fee increasing by $5 every two years until it hits $150 annually for electric vehicles and $50 for plug-ins. The proposed legislation aligns with the Trump administration’s effort to repeal policies that support the electric vehicle industry.
Some have argued that electric vehicle owners fail to pay to upkeep the nation’s roads and bridges. However, EV supporters claim that the proposed annual fee is high compared to regular gasoline cars.
“Drivers of gas-powered vehicles pay approximately $73 to $89 in federal gas tax each year,” Albert Gore, executive director of Zero Emission Transportation Association, said in a statement. “The proposed fee would charge an unfair premium on EV drivers, at a time when all Americans are looking for ways to save money.”
Read more about the EV fee here by Washington Examiner’s Lauren Green.
Targeting permitting: The highway bill also includes several provisions that would accelerate the federal permitting and environmental review process for transportation related projects. Like similar permitting related bills proposed this Congress, these provisions primarily target the National Environmental Policy Act.
The bill would give more authority to states to assume environmental review of projects crossing state boundaries, soften categorical exclusion requirements for Tribal transportation program projects, and would extend a provision which limits when a highway or transit project permit can be challenged in court.
You can find the full text of the bill here.
U.S. EXTENDS SANCTION WAIVER ON RUSSIAN OIL: The Trump administration has once again extended a sanctions waiver allowing the purchase of seaborne Russian oil, this time carving out the exemption for the “most energy-vulnerable” countries as the war in Iran continues to choke global flows of crude.
Quick reminder: Treasury first issued a waiver in March allowing the purchase of seaborne Russian crude in an effort to stave off surging energy prices caused by the closure of the Strait of Hormuz. The waiver was extended in April, and officials including Treasury Scott Bessent later indicated that it would not be renewed. That extended waiver formally expired on Saturday.
What’s new: Bessent confirmed today in a post to X that the United States would be issuing the temporary 30-day general license allowing for the purchase of Russian oil for the “most energy-vulnerable” countries.
“This extension will provide additional flexibility, and we will work with these nations to provide specific licenses as needed,” Bessent said. “This general license will help stabilize the physical crude market and ensure oil reaches the most energy-vulnerable countries.”
Bessent also said the extension would help “reroute” existing supply to countries who need it the most by reducing China’s ability to stockpile discounted oil from Russia.
Read more from Callie here.
WHERE PRICES STAND: Growing risks of re-escalation between the U.S. and Iran are putting further upward pressure on oil and gas prices.
Just after 3 p.m. EDT today, international benchmark Brent crude was up by 1.02%, selling at $110.37 per barrel. West Texas Intermediate was also up 1.46% and priced at $106.96 a barrel.
“The oil market continues to reprice ongoing supply disruptions, with last week's Trump-Xi talks yielding no tangible progress in the Middle East,” ING market analysts wrote in a note today. “There had been hope (possibly misplaced) that China could use its influence over Tehran to break the deadlock between the US and Iran.”
If we’ve learned anything over the last few months, if oil continues to rise, so will gasoline. GasBuddy’s head of petroleum analyst Patrick De Haan is warning that the national average price of gasoline could spike ahead just before Memorial Day next weekend.
As of Monday, AAA reported the national average price of gas was $4.515 a gallon, just about $0.50 less than the all-time high recorded in 2022.
J.H. CAMPBELL’S LIFELINE FROM CHRIS WRIGHT EXTENDS FURTHER: The J.H. Campbell coal-fired power plant is living to see another day as Energy Secretary Chris Wright has once again pushed back the facility’s planned closure.
Wright’s office issued its fifth emergency offer directing MISO and the plant’s operator Consumers Energy to keep the facility open through Aug. 16, 2026. The coal-plant had been scheduled to shut down on May 31 of last year, however, the Department of Energy has repeatedly ordered the operator to keep it open.
The administration has claimed the facility is “critical” to the region's grid operations.
“The energy sources that perform when you need them most are inherently the most valuable—that's why beautiful, clean coal was the MVP during peak capacity events this past year,” Wright said in a statement.
Legal challenges: The Trump administration’s emergency orders to keep J.H. Campbell has been challenged in court by the Michigan Attorney General’s office, Earth Justice and the Sierra Club. Together, they have argued the administration’s orders are unlawful and disregard prior planning and regulatory approvals.
“Never before this point did the DOE delay the retirement of a power plant absent a request from the operating utility or local governmental body, and only ever in response to concrete, particularized emergencies, and subject to limitations to ensure that the order extends no further than necessary to address the emergency at hand,” the Michigan attorney general’s office said.
Their case was heard before three-judge appellate court on Friday. The panel did not immediately issue a ruling.
During the hearing, a lawyer for Consumers Energy revealed that the orders to keep the coal plant open have cost the company roughly $43 million, according to the New York Times.
BILLION DOLLAR UTILITY MERGER: Electricity rivals NextEra Energy and Dominion Energy have agreed to merge, creating the world’s largest utility with a customer base stretching from Florida to Virginia.
The details: NextEra Energy announced the roughly $67 billion deal on Monday, saying it was merging with Dominion in an all-stock transaction that will leave NextEra shareholders in control of nearly 75% of the joint company. Dominion shareholders will own just over 25%.
NextEra CEO John Ketchum has said Dominion will not be changing its name nor how its utilities operate as part of the deal, however the combined company will be known as NextEra Energy.
If approved, the company would be more than 80% regulated and serve around 10 million utility customers across Florida, Virginia, and the Carolinas. It would also own 110 gigawatts of electricity generation. The deal is expected to close in the next 12 to 18 months.
Read more from Callie here.
SENATE TO VOTE ON BLM NOMINEE: The Senate is expected to vote on 49 presidential nominees, including Stevan Pearce to lead the Bureau of Land Management.
Pearce, is a former New Mexico representative, who has received much backlash from conservationists over his previous comments to shift public ownership of land to state or private entities.
During his confirmation hearings, Pearce told Democrats that the Secretary of the Interior does not envision large sales of public lands and noted that the Federal Land Policy Management Act prohibits such sales.
If confirmed, Pearce would oversee more than 244 million acres of federal land and over 700 million acres of sub-surface minerals.
A LOOK AHEAD
May 18 – 21 The Exchange 2026 conference is taking place in Anaheim, California, focusing on challenges facing the U.S. grid.
May 18 – 21 The BioGas Americas 2026 conference is being held in Detroit, Michigan.
May 18 The Solar Energy Industries Association’s American Solar and Storage Manufacturing Expo is taking place on Capitol Hill.
May 19 The CHARGED Initiative is holding a webinar titled, “Charging Ahead with Electrification: Getting GIS Right.”
May 19 United for Infrastructure is holding an all day event titled “Building a Stronger America,” featuring remarks from Federal Highway Administration Administrator Sean McMaster and House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee Chairman Sam Graves.
May 20 – 21 The Western Governors’ Association is hosting a fourth workshop for its energy abundance initiative, focusing on improving permitting regulations for energy projects.
May 20 The Senate Environment and Public Works Subcommittee on Clean Air, Climate, and Nuclear Innovation and Safety is hosting a hearing to examine three nuclear power related bills.
May 20 The House Natural Resources Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations is holding a hearing titled, “The Profit Engine Driving Environmental Nonprofits.”
May 20 The House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations is holding a hearing examining the collapse of the Potomac Interceptor sewage pipeline.
May 21 The House Science, Space and Technology Subcommittee on Environment is holding a hearing titled, “Research-Driven Resilience: Applying Science to Secure U.S. Water Systems from Cyber Threats.”
RUNDOWN
Inside Climate News Sea Level Rise and Sunny-Day Flooding Can’t Stop a Building Boom on the Jersey Shore
Bloomberg Why Microsoft’s 24/7 Carbon-Free Pledge Matters for Emissions
The Guardian The Iran war reminds us: we’ll never be energy-independent with fossil fuels
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